Brought up in South East England, went to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and commissioned into the Royal Engineers.
Achieved an MA at Cambridge University in Mechanical Sciences and in Economics. Served for 25 years then set up a company restoring and renovating old houses before retiring to write and ski.
He has four children, ten grandchildren and four grand-dogs, and divides his spare time between West Kent and the French Alps. (Please note my pen name is Douglas Renwick, my two middle names.)